The On-line Journal of Genetics and Genealogy will highlight the connections between the science of Y and X chromosome, mitochondrial, and autosomal DNA analysis and genealogy. Reference will be made to scientific and genealogy articles which complement each other and advance the study of recent family history and ancient human migrations.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Mitochondrial DNA and Y Chromosome Variation Provides Evidence for a Recent Common Ancestry between Native Americans and Indigenous Altaians.

Mitochondrial
DNA and Y Chromosome Variation Provides Evidence for a Recent Common
Ancestry between Native Americans and Indigenous Altaians.

Source

Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6398, USA.

Abstract

The
Altai region of southern Siberia has played a critical role in the
peopling of northern Asia as an entry point into Siberia and a possible
homeland for ancestral Native Americans. It has an old and rich history
because humans have inhabited this area since the Paleolithic. Today,
the Altai region is home to numerous Turkic-speaking ethnic groups,
which have been divided into northern and southern clusters based on
linguistic, cultural, and anthropological traits. To untangle Altaian
genetic histories, we analyzed mtDNA and Y chromosome variation in
northern and southern Altaian populations. All mtDNAs were assayed by
PCR-RFLP analysis and control region sequencing, and the nonrecombining
portion of the Y chromosome was scored for more than 100 biallelic
markers and 17 Y-STRs. Based on these data, we noted differences in the
origin and population history of Altaian ethnic groups, with northern
Altaians appearing more like Yeniseian, Ugric, and Samoyedic speakers to
the north, and southern Altaians having greater affinities to other
Turkic speaking populations of southern Siberia and Central Asia.
Moreover, high-resolution analysis of Y chromosome haplogroup Q has
allowed us to reshape the phylogeny of this branch, making connections
between populations of the New World and Old World more apparent and
demonstrating that southern Altaians and Native Americans share a recent
common ancestor. These results greatly enhance our understanding of the
peopling of Siberia and the Americas.*